One of the most important equipment used in transporting goods and people is the hydraulic lift. By the way of hydraulics, such lifts are able to carry heavy loads with great ease, and lift it vertically. Hydraulic lifts come in the form of passenger lift, service lifts (to carry goods to higher floors etc.)

Lift Heavy With A Hydraulic Lift

For more than 150 years since the birth of the modern elevator, lifts have formed an important part of our life. While lifts are widely used for transporting men to higher floors, and in multistoried buildings all over the world, there is also a completely different use for lifts, as far as work and industries are concerned.

At such places, lifts are increasingly required to raise heavy loads in the form of machinery, and equipment at different levels. Due to the heavy weight to be lifted, the standard roped elevator design is not very efficient for the purpose.

A hydraulic lift typically uses hydraulic cylinders to either raise or lower platforms for work, or other lifting devices. Hydraulic lifts are ideally used for support, as well as lift and move heavy to very heavy, and large objects; at the same time providing a safe environment that is ergonomically useful. While hydraulic lifts are mainly used for loading, and positioning work objects, at times this can also used for transporting personnel, if required. The kind of hydraulic lift to be used in a particular situation will depend upon the style of the platform, and its mounting style, as well as the material that it uses. Commonly used types of hydraulic lifts are table lifts, dock lifts, fork lifts, pallet lifts etc.

Various Uses for Hydraulic Lifts

Table lifts, and positioners are used for positioning the work material such that the material to be worked on is placed at an ergonomically comfortable access points. Truck or vehicle lifts are used to lift materials for the purpose of lading them onto the trucks, which is done by lifting such materials to the height of the truck bed. Vehicle lifts come with attachments by which they can be mounted at the rear of a vehicle.

Transport companies, that transports heavy goods and machinery by roads commonly uses such lifts. A dock lift is similar to a vehicle lift; however, these are mounted at the docks and are used to position material and/or personnel for loading purpose.

Personnel lifts, as the name implies, are used to move workers to materials or the work area. This is done when it is more feasible to move personnel to the work area, rather than moving the work area to the workers. Such situations can arise when the work has to be done at great heights, or the work area is very large, and highly impossible to move.

Fork lifts and pallet lifts are used to lift the load from the base or pallets. Forklift trucks are a common sight at docks, as well as warehouses, and storage places. These trucks are mobile forklifts that are used to lift and transport goods at short distances. Fork lifts, and pallet lifts are used for loading, unloading, as well as storage and working purposes. Tilt table are hollow bins with four sides, and (usually) open at the top. These cannot only raise or lower the work piece, but can also tilt it an angle to place it in an ergonomically optimal position to be worked upon.

The main reason for the widespread use of the hydraulic lifts is the benefits it provides by creating ergonomically safe working conditions. This helps to greatly reduce, or even eliminate the large amount of injuries caused to workers due to repetitive stress.

Such injuries frequently occur when the job is much more physically demanding as compared to the physical limitations of the workers. Hydraulic lifts help to place the work material at positions that is not awkward to the workers, in an easy, and safe manner. The worker may not only benefit from the better posture for work, but the lifts can also help in placing the objects in such a manner that the worker would require the minimum force, and labor to get the job done. Due to creation of such work friendly environment, it not only results in reduced injuries, but also better productivity on the part of the workers.

By using hydraulic lifts, this can be successfully achieved in a variety of conditions that are otherwise very demanding or dangerous. Hydraulic lifts can also be used to move materials horizontally, as well as vertically. Many hydraulic lifts come with wheel, and are thus mobile in nature, and thus can be used in various situations (the best example being the forklift truck). For sustained use in a repetitive work environment, hydraulic lifts can be permanently fixed, and be made a part of the process line. In a manufacturing workshop, smaller hydraulic lifts are commonly used for holding and moving various products.

For employees that are engaged in repetitive motion activities, the tilting, as well as the height adjustment capacity of the hydraulic lifts, are very important capabilities for maintaining ergonomically safe environment. A hydraulic lift can either be controlled by the way of a remote control, or can be done manually, depending on the purpose and the size of the lift. Hydraulic lifts are commonly used in production facilities, auto-repair shops, docks, warehouses, construction sites etc. The strength and sturdiness of hydraulic lifts, along with the dimension requirements of the purpose are important criteria to consider for selecting a hydraulic lift.

Hydraulic lifts require special care and regular maintenance to make sure it works in the desired manner. Improperly maintained lifts can cause serious injury. As with any hydraulic system, care should always be taken when operating hydraulic lifts. Even when the whole system is shut down, the oil can still be under pressure, which can be very dangerous if not handles properly. Leaks of hydraulic fluid are especially dangerous, as it is at very high pressure, and has the capability of puncturing human skin.

Care should be taken to allow only those people that are properly trained in the use of hydraulic lifts, and positioning vehicles are operating the equipment. The required hydraulic pressure should always be maintained, and should never be allowed to cross the recommended levels. The lift area should be kept clean of dirt, oil, tools, grit, etc. Also, it is never a good idea to overload a hydraulic lift.